1. Field of the Invention
This invention generally relates to computers and to telecommunications and, more particularly, to methods and systems for verifying an assigned turf is appropriate for a wire center.
2. Description of the Related Art
When a telecommunications network requires repair, a work order may sometimes be categorized as an “exact wrong match.” An “exact wrong match” describes a work order that gets assigned to a wrong turf. The wrong turf gets assigned because the work order has a street address that is valid for more than one turf. Because the street address is valid for more than one turf, a technician may be dispatched to the wrong turf. Any repair is then delayed while the work order is re-routed to the proper technician.
“Exact wrong matches” usually occur after truncation. As the work order electronically flows from creation to dispatch, the work order includes a street address associated with the telephone number experiencing a problem. This street address, however, often has too many characters for the street address field in computer programs. A computer program then truncates the address to the size of the street address field. A long street address, such as 1675 West Peachtree Street N.E., Suite 100, Sandy Springs, Ga., is then truncated to “1675 West Peachtree.” The remaining street, suite, and city portion of the street address (“N.E. Suite 100, Sandy Springs”) is removed to fit the street address field. (BellSouth's work order source system, for example, truncates addresses after twenty characters). The street address remaining after truncation, “1675 West Peachtree,” may be a valid street address in more than one area. Because the address is truncated, a wrong turf gets assigned to the truncated street address.
There is, accordingly, a need in the art for methods and systems that reduce the occurrence of exact wrong matches, methods and systems that help ensure an assigned turf is appropriate for an address, and methods and systems that operate within the existing telecommunications network computer architecture.